Journal of AHIMA Wins ASHPE Editorial Excellence Awards

The Journal of AHIMA has received two awards from the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors (ASHPE) as part of its 2016 Awards Competition.

The June 2015 magazine cover titled “Life After ICD-10” won the Gold Award for Best Cover Illustration. This issue of the magazine, including the cover story, focused on the long road to ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation. After 20 years of planning, two midnight hour delays just months before implementation, and countless hours of government advocacy, it finally looked like the journey was coming to an end in June 2015 and the new ICD-10-CM/PCS code set would be implemented—a fact welcomed by many battle-worn health information management (HIM) professionals who fought hard for implementation and were ready to move on to ICD-10’s use.

The design of this cover captures the euphoria of a long, hard journey finally ending with the glowing promise of reward and new beginnings. On the edges of the cover the reader sees the dark forest they are finally emerging from. The light and the patch in the center of the image let’s the reader know that they are almost to the promised land. Yet, having the cover lines slightly obscure what lies at the end of the path symbolizes the uncertainty that also accompanies reaching ICD-10 implementation. Though many offered predictions in the article about how the healthcare world may change due to ICD-10, no one knew for certain what lay ahead in a “life after ICD-10.”

The Journal of AHIMA also won the Silver Award for Best Regular Department for its “Navigating Privacy and Security” column. Articles specifically recognized were the May 2015 issue’s “Responding to Requests from Law Enforcement Officials for Release of PHI,” by Dana DeMasters, MN, RN, CHPS; the September 2015 issue’s “Consumer Health Information Bill of Rights Advancing Public Good,” by Vera Rulon, MS, RHIT, FAHIMA; and the November/December 2015 issue’s “Cybersecurity 101,” by Susan Lucci, RHIA, CHPS, CHDS, AHDI-F, and Tom Walsh, CISSP.

Keeping patients’ health information private and secure is one of the most challenging aspects of a HIM professional’s job. The smallest privacy slip can mean ruining a patient’s life forever. But clamp down on releasing information to those authorized to receive it, and face costly federal fines. The Navigating Privacy and Security department, published in each issue of the Journal of AHIMA, guides HIM professionals through this hostile and vital area of healthcare by providing tested best practices and highlighting breaking industry news.

The November/December 2015 installment, “Cybersecurity 101,” alerts HIM professionals that an increasing cause of healthcare privacy and security breaches is due to cyber attacks, and instructs how to protect against hackers on a limited budget.

Each year the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors (ASHPE) recognizes editorial excellence and achievement in the field of healthcare publishing. View a complete list of this year’s winners at www.ashpe.org/awards-competition.